Trying to figure out if I can have a 180g

[BigJay]

I'm glad that you're thinking of everything now before buying a big tank, so few people actually plan these things out.

My house is 25 years old and a little drafty, so humidity isn't a huge problem. Nonetheless before I installed my tank I replaced the old 80's era heat pump and the air circulation system with a newer, more efficient 2008 unit with an additional half ton of capacity. That set me back big time, but I never have condensation on the windows, no mold, no warps in the hardwood floors, and no "sticky" doors.

For power I was extremely lucky, the tank sits between the living and dining rooms. The dining room is on a separate breaker circuit with an outlet right next to the tank, so I run the lighting on that outlet and everything else (heaters, vortechs, main return pump) on the living room outlet. I've never popped a breaker yet, I did put in GFCI protected outlets though.

Ventilation is always a concern with big tanks. Most people have something like a vent above the tank with a fan pulling hot and humid air into to the attic. Others have a dedicated AC unit for the fish room. My tank is near but not under one of the main AC intakes and vents. That seems to work out all right.

 

[dzhuo]

yes ventilation is next thing i want to plan about. lucky, the tank i am planning to put is actually in the basement and right next to a small window. so i am planning to do is install an air-exchanger using that small window and hopefully that will take care of ventilation.

 

[mustang51js]

the cost of running a line has a lot to do with its location and distance.How far away is your panel from the location you want and is there anything in the way. Also were do you plan on putting the tank, dining room , living room, i say this because code wise you should have a 20 amp line for kitchen outlets and dining room outlets. You could check the breaker to see what size it is or you could try and see what the color of the wire is as someone else said, but being that your house is 10 years old the colored wires were just coming out or not out let, i think they came out in the last 6-8 years. If you have anymore questions about running a line let me know

 

[dzhuo]

George,
If I open up the electrical panel and look inside, would there clear indication of the amp of each breaker? like whether it's 10amp, 15 amp or 20amp?

 

[Hook]

it should be clearly marked on each breaker in the box, right above the switch on the breaker

 

[stunreefer]

Better safe than sorry and get dedicated lines ran. I had 2 - 20AMP GFI protected lines ran for my 183 gal... each line has an outlet box with 4 plugs.

I've had them ran twice now (had to do it again after I moved). The first time was about $500. This time I was quoted $200-300, and I'm yet to receive the bill I should add that last time was quoted the same, and the original bill they sent me was just under $800. I had to call and chat with the owner about the bill being 400% more than I was intially quoted :lol: hence the charge of $500.

Regardless its safer for you and your tank and is well worth it IMO seems how we put so much money and time into our little slices.

 

[mustang51js]

the best way to find out what breaker it is ,is to plug in a light and then turn off the brakers one by one untill the light goes out,then it should be on the breaker itself what the size would be, it should be a 15 amp or 20 amp breaker. Then while you have that off i would check the lights and plugs to see what else is off the same circuit. It really depends on the electrician who wired the house to see how much stuff is on the braker, ive seen people put a couple outlets on one and then seen almost half a house on one breaker also. As far as price goes i would usually charge about $150 a line but that is just me and it depends on the lenth of the run and anything that may be in the way.

 

[dzhuo]

Yup. I probably (in fact I am pretty sure) won't be doing this myself. I will hire someone locally who knows this stuff well. The panel is in the front of the house and the tank is in the rear end but line only has to go through the basement which is actually pretty empty right now. Hopefully this won't cost me a lot.

 

[mustang51js]

Is your basement ceiling sheetrocked,if not it shouldnt be a big thing to do.

 

[dzhuo]

what's sheetrocked?

 

[mustang51js]

sheet rock, can you see open wood beems or are they covered

 

[dzhuo]

they are covered.

I actually spoke with an electrician today and he thinks it shouldn't be too bad (price wise) to install a breaker for my tank. He mentioned that there are 30amp or even 60amp breaker and asked if I want to go bigger than a standard 20amp. Is that a bad idea to go higher than a 20?

 

[mustang51js]

you cant go any higher than a 20 amp because thats the biggest they make for a regular outlet.Ive never heard of a outlet being higher than that and the reason is that the wire on whatever you are pluging in would melt before it would be able to trip that size breaker, now a subpanel you can use those breakers but you dont need that you need one or two dedicated 20 amp lines to plug things in.

 

[mustang51js]

and im talking about a regular outlet that you would have in your house, anything above 20 amps then you have to start changing the ends on the cords to fit into them.

 

[dzhuo]

got it. thx! i will use a 20amp then.

 

[CorkPullerPHL]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is that it is not recommended for any breaker to service more than 80% of it rated capability. So for a 15amp breaker, that is about 1350 watts. Or, 1760 for a 20 amp breaker.

I am by no means saying that you can't completely load your breakers, but there is certainly more risk, especially when your big pumps turn on.

Cheers.